Cast: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Jonah Hill, RZA, Jason Schwartzman, Aubrey Plaza, Aziz Ansari, Eric Bana

Category: Comedy, Drama

Having churned out some of the most heartfelt (and uproarious) films of the last decade including The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, Apatow has virtually created a whole new sub-genre of comedic film-making, and it is refreshing to see him try his hand elsewhere.

Adam Sandler, arguably the most omnipresent actor in the comedy genre since Peter Sellers, stars as stand-up comedian George Simmons. Upon being diagnosed with a terminal illness, he feels the urge to both rectify some hefty moral dilemmas in his life, as well as form a genuine friendship with another human being. Enter Seth Rogen, the greenhorn wannabe looking for his big break in the industry.

Without doubt the overwhelming highlight of this film is Adam Sandler. With Punch Drunk Love, he extended his acting limits beyond his former man-child roles in Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison. While I challenge anybody my age to watch either of the latter and not laugh uncontrollably, Sandler’s layered performance in Funny People is what gives the film its soul. His role as the sad clown, who deviates from an otherwise shallow life to bring laughter to an expecting audience, feels all-too-real and contributes in giving the viewer a touching documentary-style look into the industry.

In a similar vein, the characterization of each main cast member is done beyond expectation. Sandler is complimented by well-rounded performances by Rogen, Hill, Mann and Schwartzman with an enjoyable small role from Aziz Ansari. They all succeed in constructing interesting individuals, which play nicely to the character-driven, rather than plot-driven, flow of the film.

Sadly, these positives dry out completely by around the halfway mark. It might make me sound like a sadist, but I’ll say it anyway: I lost all interest in this film after Simmons found out he had beaten cancer. I make the effort to not disclose developmental plot details of any film in my reviews, but I feel that this has to be made known.

The second half of Funny People loses all direction and sense of pathos that made the first half so appealing, which can be attributed to Apatow’s directorial inexperience in some foreign territory. Simmons decides to make the most of his now-extended life by reigniting a relationship with an ex-wife who still has feelings for him, despite re-marrying. The remainder of the film stumbles at what should be sentimental peaks, awkwardly and desperately trying to invoke genuine emotion out of the viewer, which just doesn’t come.

A dishonorable mention also goes to Eric Bana. Maybe it’s because I’ve grown up listening to the Australian accent, but the transition of the accent to film whether legitimate (Bana in Funny People) or fabricated (Downey Jnr. in Natural Born Killers) almost always seems forced and distracts from the performance itself. There is nothing particularly wrong with Bana’s character; it simply suffers from a case of overacting. I do still recommend this film, though, if for no other reason than to encourage you to make up your own mind on this intriguing endeavor.

6/10.

Author Bio: Johnny Hollywood

One day, a good friend started calling me Hollywood because of my never-ending desire to talk about films, and the nickname stuck like glue. There’s only one thing I love more than reviewing movies, and that’s discussing them with everybody and anybody, so never hesitate to tell me what you think about my work.